In his Between Meals column, Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer writes about the restaurants he visits each week as he searches for the next Top 100 Restaurants. His main dining reviews, written after three or more visits, appear in the Sunday Food + Wine section.

When Prospect opened in 2010, the neighborhood looked very different. Now when diners look out the floor-to-ceiling windows, partly shaded by gauzy drapes, they are confronted with a wall of high-rises.

The restaurant has a similar modern view, and not only in its decor where the exposed concrete columns play off the beautifully crafted wood tables and comfortable chairs. Between the dining room, bar and private room, the restaurant seats 250, yet it doesn’t feel cavernous, and the food looks like something you might get in a hands-on 50-seat place. That’s the reason it’s been on my Top 100 list since its debut.

When it opened I referred to Prospect as Boulevard’s little sister. Since that time the cuisine has morphed to move with the time and the crowds. Under Pam Mazzola and executive chef John Cahill, the combinations are complex and sophisticated, much like at Nancy Oakes’ other restaurant, Boulevard.

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I’m always of the mind that too many elements in a dish muddle the mixture, but Prospect proves me wrong. For example, the duck breast ($34) is flanked by two fried wild rice arancini balls. Then there’s hedgehog mushrooms, wilted mustard greens and kale, parsley root and foie gras sauce. It comes together like a patchwork quilt. The restaurant is known for its Heritage Berkshire pork chop ($36), with accompaniments that change many times during the year. On my recent visit last week, the chop was paired with butter beans, kale pistou, roasted broccoli Romanesco, orange pork jus and fennel pollen.

Even the descriptions of the appetizers can take up more than one line on a normal menu. Cahill’s stuffed local squid is accompanied with Spanish octopus, squid ink cavatelli about the size of baby cornichons, braised poblano peppers, black garlic, chunks of seared pork terrine and a few leaves of arugula.

Photo: Michael Bauer, The Chronicle

Octopus and squid-ink cavatelli with braised poblano peppers at Prospect.

Octopus and squid-ink cavatelli with braised poblano peppers at...

And what always helps to put the restaurant at the top my list are the desserts. So few places seem to be baking these days, and Prospect breaks the mold whether it’s a mile-high chocolate cream pie ($12); a sticky toffee cake ($12); ice cream sandwiches ($7/$14); dark chocolate and chili tart ($12); or the Creamsicle sundae ($12).

What struck me on my update visit for the Top 100 was how the restaurant reflects the surrounding area. The dining room tends to skew a little older, while the 50-seat loungehas a separate menu that includes a great hamburger ($14.50) and deviled eggs ($10). Which brings up another element of success: The cocktails are always balanced

Prospect is a restaurant that naturally seems to serve its clientele without feeling forced or trendy.